The 2014 legislative session in Phoenix is well underway. Check out our analysis of recent budget support for public colleges and universities and what's on the docket this session. 

Students from Arizona colleges and universities met with state legislators in Phoenix last week to discuss higher education issues in the 2014 state legislature. Our partners at Women in Government recruited the legislators and Young Invincibles and the Student Impact Project brought the students. 

Joining the conversation were Rep. Lela Allston, Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford, Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales, Rep. Stefani Mach, Rep. Lisa Otondo, Sen Lynne Pancrazi, and our host Sen. Anna Tovar.

Representing students were Morgan Abraham, student body president at the University of Arizona, Karen Gonzales from Glendale Community College, Alma Hernandez University of Arizona/Pima Community College, and Cymone Ragland from Northern Arizona University/Glendale Community College. 

In the Jan. 19 Arizona Daily Star article “Arizona spends too much sending too many to college, lawmaker says,” Rep. John Kavanagh, chairman of the Arizona House Appropriations Committee, said, “If somebody’s going to end up in a sales position or be a real estate agent, why are we investing all this money in a research university degree?”

Rep. Kavanagh raises an important question. As he correctly states, tax revenues and student tuition dollars support university students. We need to ask questions about the wisdom of these investments.

What is the purpose of attending universities like the University of Arizona? There are two answers. 

Every state faces unique challenges and opportunities in financing its higher education system. Here's what's been happening in Arizona lately, and how we're working with students to make affordable college a reality for all Arizonans.

Click here to download our break down of the budget process in Arizona.